Chapter 15

Then Gangleri said, ‘Where is the central or holy place of the gods?’

High answered, ‘It is at the ash Yggdrasil. There each day the gods hold their courts.’

Then Gangleri asked, ‘What is there to tell about that place?’

Then Just-as-High said, ‘The ash is the largest and the best of all trees. Its branches spread themselves over all the world, and it stands over the sky. Three roots support the tree and they are spread very far apart. One is among the Æsir. A second is among the frost giants where Ginnungagap once was. The third reaches down to Niflheim, and under this root is the well Hvergelmir; but Nidhogg [Hateful Striker] gnaws at this root from below.

‘Under the root that goes to the frost giants is the Well of Mimir. Wisdom and intelligence are hidden there, and Mimir is the name of the well’s owner. He is full of wisdom because he drinks of the well from the Gjallarhorn.¹ All-Father went there and asked for one drink from the well, but he did not get this until he gave one of his eyes as a pledge. As it says in The Sibyl’s Prophecy:

Odin, I know all, where you hid the eye in that famous Well of Mimir. Each morning Mimir drinks mead from Val-Father’s pledge. Do you know now or what?

(The Sibyl’s Prophecy. 28)

‘The third root of the ash is in heaven, and under that root is the very holy well called the Well of Urd. There the gods have their place of judgment. Every day the Æsir ride up over Bifrost, which is also called Asbru [Bridge of the Æsir]. The horses of the Æsir are named as follows: Sleipnir [Fast Traveller] is the best; Odin owns him, and he has eight legs. The second is Glad, the third Gyllir, the fourth Glaer, the fifth Skeidbrimir, the sixth Silfrtopp, the seventh Sinir, the eighth Gils, the ninth Falhofnir, the tenth Gulltopp and the eleventh is Lettfeti. Baldr’s horse was burned with him. Thor, however, walks to the court; wading those rivers named as follows:

Kormt and Ormt and the two Kerlaugs, through these Thor will wade each day when he goes to judge at the ash Yggdrasil, because the bridge of the Æsir burns with fire – holy waters seethe.’ (*The Lay of Grimnir. 29*)

Then Gangleri said, ‘Does fire burn over Bifrost?’

High replied: ‘The red you see in the rainbow is the burning fire. The frost giants and the mountain giants would scale heaven if Bifrost could be travelled by all who wanted to do so. There are many beautiful places in heaven and everything is divinely protected. A handsome hall stands under the ash beside the well. Out of this hall come three maidens, who are called Urd [Fate], Verdandi [Becoming] and Skuld² [Obligation]. These maidens shape men’s lives. We call them the norns. There are yet more norns, those who come to each person at birth to decide the length of one’s life, and these are related to the gods. Others are descended from the elves, and a third group comes from the dwarves, as is said here:

Born of very different parents I believe the norns are, they do not share kinship. Some are of the Æsir, Some are of the elves, Some are the daughters of Dvalin.’

(The Lay of Fafnir. 13)

Then Gangleri said, ‘If the norns decide the fates of men, then they do so in a terribly uneven manner. Some people enjoy a good and prosperous life, whereas others have little wealth or renown. Some have a long life, but others, a short one.’

High said: ‘The good norns, the ones who are well born, shape a good life. When people experience misfortune, it is the bad norns who are responsible.’